Wednesday, July 23, 2008

examples of how to ink our stuff

Here is my original in blue.Here is an ink/cleanup by Kali. Note that she very carefully preserves all the nuances in the drawing. The varied shapes and forms. The asymmetry. The flowing organicness of the curves. The construction.

Note also that many of George's parts have been inked on separate layers. That's so individual pieces of him can be animated in Flash. This is similar to 60s TV limited animation-like the Flintstones.Here she colored each layer so you could easily see how it works. Each individual part has to be inked all around, even where you won't see it in an individual frame.

****Note- see where I made the pencil lines thicker in the indentations of the smile line? That makes the cheeks and smile feel fleshy and full. Follow that through in the inking. It helps the expressions read.

The same thing applies to the lines that indicate the eyelids. They are thicker in the middle, which also helps you see the eye expression.Note that wrinkles and minor details are generally thinner, but they still follow the directions and planes of the larger forms.

Individual teeth lines should be thinner than the line that outlines the complete set of either upper or lower teeth. That holds them together as a set. It's a hierarchy of important and less important lines. Big important forms generally get thicker lines. Details that wrap around the bigger forms get thinner lines.If you are applying for inking or cleanup, these are stellar examples of what we need.

In other words, different, more organic types of shapes? Well, Warner Bros. kind of abandoned pears for the most part, except for some characters, like Sylvester the cat. Chuck Jones' shapes are pretty unique, but very hard to copy.

Terrific drawings and inking tips! Does this mean that you're accepting only digital inking in Flash or Illustrator (with parts of the picture inked on separate layers), or you can have the use of the classic inking too?

paul b: Why? Do you not like art which uses "pears and pipes" for construction? If so, the best cartoonist I can think of who doesn't use "pears and pipes" is Robert Crumb. But if you want realistic art, and most of Crumb's work isn't, then this isn't the blog for you.

A friend of mine told me about your blog, cause we're big fans of your stuff. I'm just starting to read all the posts ( or many of them!)It's really interesting and great!Thanks you for the fun and the knowledge!

Hey, John, I'm doing some inking. I'm better at manual inking and I actually think these ones came out kind of decent, but there is a problem. I recognize I make all the lines a little too thick, but I assure you the lines look thinner in the original drawings (and in the George one more secure too, when you click on it you see the details too damn big while the drawing isn't so big and the more unsecure lines are a lot less perceptible).I'm not trying to justify the mistakes, it's just less noticeable for the human eye in the paper originals and the lines are a little less thick in general.

Does someone has any advice about how should I scan this to get more accurate results?

Anyway, here they are. Please, take a look, I'm really trying to get them right.

I would love to learn how to make animation. Right now I'm teaching myself by looking at the greats, reading their books, and using flipbooks and easyToon. I don't have the money for flash yet, but maybe some day I will!

Man, this inking business is so interesting! I don't know if you've mentioned it before, but i'd be VERY keen to see just what medium you lot use, is it digital inking? traditional?

What techniques should one keep in mind with hand/arm movements? I'd love to know what you think, because i find so many inkers have their own methods and things that work for them. Like multiple strokes, the dot system, pivoting the elbow, looking ahead, ghosting etc etc.

I've inked a few of your George drawings in Illustrator and wanted to get your take on them. Any pointers would be extremely awesome. And if you like them and still need inkers I'd love to apply for the job.